A deadly shooting at a Buckhead nightclub Friday morning sent a crowd into chaos, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Some hid under tables and others took cover in a bathroom when a fight at the Buckhead Loft at Level V in the 2100 block of Tula Street erupted in gunfire, the news station reported.
A 36-year-old man was shot and later pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital. He is not being named until his family is notified, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office.
IN-DEPTH: Innocent man killed in crossfire outside Buckhead club, police say
“Preliminary information shows that the shooting was possibly the result of an altercation that started inside the club,” Atlanta police spokesman Officer Jarius Daugherty said in a statement. “At this time, it does not appear that the victim was involved in that altercation.”
Officers were called to the club about 1:30 a.m. A witness told Channel 2 a group of men became violent after a performer finished his set.
On Friday night, Atlanta police identified the performer, who was wearing a white shirt and hat, as the suspect.
“His friends, they just got buck wild,” Kaila Spears said. “They just started throwing bottles and just started fighting. It was a lot. It was too much.”
At some point, police said the men went outside the club and returned with guns. Spears was on the upper level of the lounge when she heard shots from a ground-floor entrance and ran for the bathroom, she told the news station.
“When they came back inside, they just started popping their guns like ‘pow pow pow’ ... that’s when everybody started running towards the back, and it was just chaotic,” she said.
Homicide investigators think they are looking for one or two shooters who fired at least five shots.
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“Investigators are working to identify witnesses and locate surveillance video,” Daugherty said.
Atlanta police obtained surveillance video and provided it to AJC.com Friday night. Along with the suspect, two others were identified as people of interest.
APD will be reviewing the club’s permits and meeting with management to make sure the nightclub is in compliance with the law, he said.
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